| Randy "the Rat" Reutershan | |
| Number: | 40 |
| Position: | Wide receiver / Return specialist / Defensive back |
| Birth Date: | 30 June 1955 |
| Birth Place: | New York City, New York, U.S. |
| High School: | Mahwah (Mahwah, New Jersey) |
| Height Ft: | 5 |
| Height In: | 10 |
| Weight Lbs: | 182 |
| College: | Pittsburgh |
| Draftyear: | 1978 |
| Draftround: | 6 |
| Draftpick: | 160 |
| Pastteams: | |
| Highlights: |
|
| Statlabel1: | Games played |
| Statvalue1: | 11 |
| Statlabel2: | Punt returns |
| Statvalue2: | 20 |
| Statlabel3: | Punt return yards |
| Statvalue3: | 148 |
| Pfr: | ReutRa20 |
Randy Reutershan (born June 30, 1955) is a former American football player who performed in a single season in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was a member of teams that won a college football national championship and Super Bowl XIII over the Dallas Cowboys.
Reutershan was born in New York City to Warren and Doris Reutershan.[1] He attended Mahwah High School in Mahwah, New Jersey where he earned letters three years in football, basketball and track.[2]
Reutershan attended the University of Pittsburgh. In his junior season he was a wide receiver and special teams ace[2] on the Panthers team which won the national championship. He had 17 catches for 311 yards in his senior season at Pitt in 1977.[3] His tenacity as a special teams player, particularly his love of tackling on the coverage team, earned him the nickname "the Rat."[4] His college coach, Johnny Majors called Reutershan, "the most dynamic special teams performer I have ever seen."[5]
Reutershan was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the sixth round of the 1978 NFL draft. He made the team as a defensive back after switching back and forth from wide receiver during training camp.[6] He played in eleven games in his rookie season, contributing primarily on special teams. His season was cut short in mid-November by a single vehicle roll-over automobile accident that left him with severe head injuries for which he was hospitalized for a full month.[2] [7] Although he would eventually recover from his injuries, he was advised to discontinue his professional football career.[8]
Reutershan returned to his alma mater, Pittsburgh, as a wide receivers coach under Jackie Sherrill in 1979.[9]